of Dreams and Regrets
by JustLucky05
Summary: Cheetara has been having nightmares lately, but are they trying to tell her something? Chapter 8 is up!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is my first Fanfic story ever. Please read and review, be honest, your comments can only help me become better._

**Of Dreams and Regrets**

The scene slowly came into view before her. Her vision was blurry at first, but the images and details slowly becoming sharper. Tygra, Cheetara, and Lion-O were fighting Kaynar, Slithe, and Addicus. Tygra had gotten himself tied up by his own whip and Kaynar was pointing his spear at the back of his head.

Kaynar yelled, "Surrender or we'll kill him!"

Lion-O's face showed shock when Slithe smirked and stated, "I believe it's your turn to surrender now, yesssss."

Lion-O became furious and shouted back while raising the Sword of Omens against Slithe, "Never! There's still two of us!"

The sound of something hitting the ground rang in Lion-O's ears. He paused and turned around to see that Cheetara had dropped her staff in an act of surrender.

Lion-O questioned her in shock, "Cheetara! What are you doing? I thought we had to stick together!"

"I have to stick with him." She replied, as her head began to lower in shame.

The look of shock on Lion-O's face soon became one of pain, and confusion as he felt a burning, ripping sensation from his chest. He looked down to see the end of sword protruding from the area where his heart should be. "Why, Cheetara?! Why…"

Slithe had taken Lion-O's momentary distraction as a perfect opportunity to strike him down. He shoved his sword straight into Lion-O's back, driving it through him with one blow. Slithe then smiled wickedly to the others and ordered, "Kill them in whatever manner amuses you."

Slithe then pulled his sword free from Lion-O's body as it fell to the floor in a lifeless mass, his eyes still staring at Cheetara in confusion and fear as they began to glaze over.

"NNNOOOOOO!..." Cheetara screamed as she sat bolt upright from her bedroll. Her heartbeat was racing. Her breath was coming in short ragged gasps, and sweat covered her face and body. Her trembling hands quickly tried to untangle herself from the covers that she was wrapped in as she looked around trying to take in her surroundings.

"Cheetara! Sweetheart it's ok. It was only a night-terror…it's just another bad dream." Tygra slowly placed his hand on his mate's back and began rhythmically moving it up and down, trying to impart comfort to her.

The unexpected touch made Cheetara jump before her mind registered that it was Tygra lying next to her, that it was him touching her. As she continued to quickly look around, she saw the other thundercats lying in their own bedrolls around the diminishing campfire. She realized that it was early morning and they were safely in their newest campsite, but she kept on scanning the darkened area until her eyes finally fell on the cause of her distress, Lion-O.

The young Lord of the Thundercats was sitting up in his own bedroll next to the fire. His azure blue eyes were locked on hers, and there was a look of concern and worry etched across his features. Once Cheetara realized that he was, in fact alive and safe, she let out a breath of relief and slowly nodded to him that it was going to be ok. "I'll be alright… this night-terror was just a bad one."

Cheetara then attempted to settle herself back down onto her bedroll, and with shacking hands tired to straighten out her coverings so as not to get wrapped up in them again.

"Honey, are you really going to be alright?" Tygra questioned, taking in the cheetah's frazzled appearance. " These night-terrors seem to be getting worse. Is there anything that I can do?"

"Yes, I will be alright. I just need a few minutes. And no, I don't think anyone can really help me. This is just something I need to figure out and work through."

"Do you want to tell me about it? I might be able to help figure something out?"

"No, I just want to go back to sleep and hopefully get some real rest before we have to get up for the day."

"Alright, Alright, but I'm worried about you. You don't have to go through this alone, you know. Maybe talking things out with someone will help. Just think about it okay?"

"Okay, I'll think about it. Goodnight Tygra."

"Goodnight hon."

She felt the tiger's body relax as he cuddled up next to her. His breathing started slowing and became more regular and she knew that he had fallen back to sleep. She needed rest herself, but try as she might, Cheetara could not calm herself down enough to allow sleep to come. Her body still trembled slightly because the vivid memory of her night-terror was still too fresh in her mind. She took in some deep cleansing breaths to try to soothe her body and center her mind. That seemed to help only a little. She has been having these night-terrors for weeks now, and they are not only getting more frequent, but they are also becoming more severe. She didn't want to admit it, but these dreams were now starting to affect her physically a well as emotionally. She needed to find out what the root cause for these dreams were, and do something to correct it. Her only problem was she had no idea what that was.

After hearing that she was going to be fine, the other thundercats began to roll up once again into their coverings and began to fall back asleep. Lion-O continued to look at her for a few more moments before he also nodded and turned over and nestled down to sleep. The concern for the cheetah still lingered on in his thoughts. These night-terrors were happening more and more often, and they seemed to be getting worse. In addition to that, whatever they are about has been worrying her during the day-time as well. That combined with the lack of sleep she has been getting, and it is no wonder that Cheetara has been performing at far less than her usual level. Perhaps he should go talk to her. Maybe he could do something to help. At this thought, his heart began to ache. It has been some time since she had chosen his brother, since then they had a very strained relationship. He thought he had put those hurt feelings behind him; Maybe he hadn't. He considered this for a time and then finally decided that he wanted her to be happy. In fact, he wanted both her and Tygra to be happy, it just hurt to see them together.

Lion-O remembered well the pain he felt those first few weeks that Tygra and Cheetara were together. It seemed as though his heart crumble from the hurt he felt. Then Pumyra came into the picture, and that pain seemed to disappear for a while. Even his brother's snide remarks didn't bother him that much. After her betrayal, all those wounds were ripped back open even deeper than they were before. Since then he has hardly talked at all with his cleric. 'His cleric' he mused to himself. He wondered if that was true anymore. Their relationship had become difficult recently. He wasn't sure what they were anymore. They used to be friends. They used to talk all the time, she used to give him encouragement and advice, and she used to lift him up when he was low. Then came that fateful day she had told him that she only done those things because Jaga had asked her to. That revelation had hurt him the worst. That was when things really went south. Now they almost never speak to each other. Wileykit has even taken up the cleric's role of offering him encouragement and advice.

He needed to fix that, he finally realized. The more he thought about it, the more resolved he became. Even with everything that had happened between them, he still considers Cheetara a friend; and right now that friend needed his help. It pained him to see her hurting, not only that, but as Lord of the Thundercats, the safety and well-being of his people was his responsibility. If things get any worse, Cheetara may put herself or someone else in danger during a battle. He can't have that. He knows that he needs to try to help her, even if it hurts him to do so, and even if it makes Tygra angry with him, he still needs to try. With that, he closes his eyes and tells himself that he will think more on it after a few hours of sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thanks to all who review! keep the comments comming. I don't own TC, but oh how I wish I did!_

**Chapter2**

Mere hours have passed since the previous incident that woke everyone in the camp. All of the Thundercats were once again sleeping peacefully; all that is,except one. Although sleep has finally claimed her, it is anything but peaceful. The young cheetah maiden is tossing and turning in the coverings of her bedroll, Cheetara's mind is once again playing havoc with her dreams.

"This court will be brought to order!" Panthero declared in a loud baritone voice.

Cheetara noticed that he was dressed in a Court Bailiff's uniform. She looked down and found that she was seated in the witness chair in what seemed to be a Thunderian courtroom. Not only was she on the witness stand, but her hands were bound together and each ankle was tied to a leg of the chair she was sitting in. Gone were her normal clerical robes, instead she wore some kind of prison attire. She tried to lean forward, but she found that her torso was also bound to the back of the chair. Panic started to fill Cheetara's heart as she struggled to get free when the next words she heard Panthero utter, froze her in place.

"The case of the people of Thundera vs. the former cleric known as Cheetara will now re-commence! The charges are Dereliction of Duty and Sedition"

"What?!..." Cheetara gasped, not believing what she heard. "This can not be happening…"

"Is the prosecution ready to cross-examine the witness?"

Cheetara looked up to see Lion-O sitting in the judge's chair above her. He had a hurt and saddened look upon his face as he looked from her to the prosecutor. His whole body was giving off a sense of despair.

"Yes we are your honor." Replied Tygra as he came forward to stand before a shocked Cheetara. She couldn't understand what in the world he was doing here, and more importantly, why was he looking at her with such malice?

"We will prove that on multiple occasions, this woman failed to perform her duties as a 'cleric and defender of the crown' and that through her actions, both willful and not, that she not only endangered mission success but the very life of the crowned King of Thundera."

"I have never-"

"Yes you have!" Tygra cut her off with a sneer before she could finish, "and I will prove that here today!"

This was the part of the job that Tygra really enjoyed. This is where he shined. He loved finding the weaknesses and shortcomings of others and exploiting them. He relished breaking them down and making them admit their failures and mistakes in front of a jury thus proving their guilt. That's why he became a prosecutor; it was the thrill of the hunt, and the best part of it was when he was going in for the kill.

"Answer these few questions if you please, Cheetara. In addition to being a royal bodyguard, is it not the duty of the clerics to be both counselor and advisor to the king? Is it not their duty to listen to his concerns and offer support, advice and/or encouragement if needed? In short, is it not the duty of the clerics to also look after the emotional welfare of the King?"

"I…well…um…yes, yes I suppose it is" Cheetara stammered. She got the distinct impression she was NOT going to like where this was headed.

"You suppose it is, or it is? Are you not sure of the role of a true cleric?" Tygra questioned with a touch of acid in his voice.

"Yes, it is!" Cheetara shot back with a little bit of heat in her own voice.

"Then you have failed miserably at it! It has been months now since you have counseled with your king. He has needed your counsel, and your encouragement, but you have failed to give it. Where were your words of encouragement after the whole Pumyra fiasco? When he was emotionally wounded and at his lowest, you were silent! It has been so long in fact, that another has taken that role from you. Wileykit is now doing what _you_ should have been doing all this time!" Tygra's remarks were cutting straight through to Cheetara's heart, "Why did you fail in this duty?"

"I don't know…my relationship with Lion-O became strained and… difficult, since I chose to become your mate." She softly replied.

"So you quit because it was hard. You just gave up when something got too difficult? Funny, that doesn't sound like a '_cleric'_ to me. So how about support? When was the last time you truly supported Lion-O? In Avista, when I was busy making deals I had no authority to make, where was your support for your king? How many times since we left Thundera did _I_ go against Lion-O while you stood there, all the time knowing it was wrong, and still said nothing?"

" I – I just wanted to show you… that I supported you-" Cheetara said, all the while holding back her tears as her emotions welled up and threatened to break forth, " isn't that what a Mate is supposed to do?"

Tygra was on a roll now, " So you admit that you intentionally withheld your support, even when you knew that his suggestions were not only better, but were the correct choices to make, just to make yourself look better to your mate? How selfish can you really be? Don't you realize that because of your actions we put ourselves into more dangerous situations than we needed to, just because you failed to have a backbone? Any one of us could have died because of you, even me, is that what you wanted?"

"NNOOO! That's not what I wanted!" she screamed, tears feely lowing down her cheeks, sobs wracking her body as she tried to speak, "..I didn't know… I wasn't trying…I never meant… I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!" Cheetara's face buried itself in her hands as she openly wept before the entire courtroom.

"We know that you are sorry, NOW! But there is still one final point to make. It is the Duty and Responsibility of the clerics as the 'Defenders of the Crown' to protect the life of the king above all others, even to the point of laying down your own life if necessary. But you Cheetara went against the expressed orders of your king and while in the middle of a battle threw down your weapon and surrendered which left Lion-O, Your KING, unprotected in the hands of the Mutants! WHY!"

"I… just…I just couldn't… watch you die…" Cheetara's voice was nothing more than a soft whimper as she slowly lifter her eyes to meet Tygra's. Tears continued to flow freely down her flushed and dirtied cheeks.

"I still could have died, we all could have. It was just dumb luck that Panthero was able to save us. The fact remains that you surrendered. You failed to protect your king! You failed to support the king, even when you knew he was right, and you failed to counsel, advise and encourage him in his times of need. In fact, you have failed in all of your duties as a cleric of Thundera. So Cheetara, only one question remains, how do you plead? "

Cheetara only wept.

"Cheetara, how do you plead?" Lion-O asked from the Judges stand "Cheetara….Cheetara…."

"Cheetara, wake up!" she heard as her eyes flew open with a start. She started to panic as she realized that there was a body kneeling directly over her. She looked up and found herself staring into the azure blue eyes of Lion-O. "Are you okay? You were having another night-terror. You were thrashing about and crying."

Cheetara quickly threw her arms around Lion-O's neck and pulled him tightly to her, nearly crushing him as she hugged him in a death-lock hold. "I'm sorry Lion-O… I am so… so… SORRY!" she cried as tears steamed down the sides of her face soaking his shirt.

"Ssshhhhh…it's okay, you're okay, everything is going to be just fine." He gently hugged her back with one arm as he used the other one to keep him from falling on top of her. Her quick movement had caught him off guard, and if it wasn't for the fact that his hand was already on the ground as he knelt to wake her, she would have pulled him right off his feet. Right now, though, his heart ACHED for this woman. Even though he knew that he shouldn't, he couldn't help but notice how _good_ her warmth felt against him. His pulse rate doubled at her touch, and he couldn't help but think the way that her body molded against his somehow felt…Right! Now, however, was not the time. He couldn't indulge himself in his fantasies, he needed to focus. The cheetah he held in his arms still clung to him in a terrified death-grip, all the while continuing to sob into his chest. Cheetara needed him; he realized, now, that these night terrors had something to do with him. So regardless of how he felt, and despite his reservations, he was going to be there for her in whatever capacity she needed him to be. All he had to do was trample down the emotions that were threatening to re-emerge, all he had to do was keep himself from thinking "if only…"


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm sorry" she repeated again and again as she held tightly to the lion king. The memories of her night-terror were still crystal clear in her mind. She was doing her best to calm herself down, but nothing seemed to be working. After a few minutes of deep breathing and more than a few comforting words from Lion-O, she finally released him and began to look around.

"Where is everybody?" she asked, noticing for the first time that they were the only two cats in the camp.

"Well…Panthero went to scout a safe place for the thundertank to cross the river. Tygra is trying to hunt up something to add to our diminishing food supply and the Wily-cubs are down by the river getting some fresh water for the camp." Lion-O replied. "And I just came back from getting us some more firewood."

"Why didn't someone wake me?" Cheetara inquired a little uneasily.

"We all felt that you needed a little extra sleep. Especially after last night's incident."

Cheetara felt her cheeks flush red with embarrassment as she looked down towards her bedroll. "I see… I didn't realize that I was that bad." She mumbled, barely loud enough for Lion-O to hear.

"You're not." Lion-O replied as he leaned back to sit on the ground by her feet. Now seemed like a good time to put a little bit of needed space between them. "We just figured that since we weren't packing up today, and nothing seemed pressing, then why no let you have a little extra time to rest."

"Oh," she said softly, as she started to fidget with her hands. Cheetara suddenly had no idea what to do with herself. She desperately wanted to talk to Lion-O about her dreams, but she was both nervous and embarrassed at the thought of it. She didn't know where or how to begin such a conversation. She realizes now that she has been severely lacking in her duties to her king. More troubling than that, she realizes, is that she had been hurting her friend. Most troublesome of all though, was her lack of convictions as a cleric. She had ignored all of her life-long teachings and everything she has trained so long and so hard for. She had set aside her opinions and her own personal beliefs, just to appear supportive to her mate. She had never imagined she would lose herself so thoroughly to another cat, she never would have thought it possible, but it had happened. The shame of that fact alone was weighing down on her almost more than she could bear.

"Cheetara, what is wrong?" Lion-O asked as he watched her carefully. He had seen the way she was fidgeting around, and noticed that she would not look in his direction. She was definitely worried about something, and it probably had to do with her dreams, but what exactly it was, he couldn't guess.

"Nothing is wrong. I just-" Cheetara's reply was cut short by Lion-O as he reached over and placed his hand on hers. This action made her look up at him.

"Cheetara…" He interrupted her, "We both know that is NOT the case." His concern for her was clearly shown on his face. "So why don't you stop hiding whatever it is that you are hiding, and tell me what's _really_ going on. And while you're at it, you can tell me what part_ I_ have in all of this."

"What makes you think _you_ have anything to do with this?" she asked a little defiantly. She hated the fact that he could always seem to see through her. He was always so in tuned with her. It was like he could actually see into her soul and read her emotions like a book, and that annoyed her…a little.

"Well…" he began, as the smirk on his face grew wider. "You have been having these Night-terrors for weeks now. Recently, they have been getting more frequent and worse in their intensity because you usually wake up screaming, you're covered in sweat and you're unable to catch your breath. Earlier this morning, after you woke up screaming, you were looking around the camp as if searching for something. When you finally saw me, you stared at me as if you were seeing a ghost. And just a few minutes ago, after you woke up crying, you held onto me like you were trying to squeeze the life out of me _yourself_! All the time telling me how 'Sorry' you were… Now I might not be the smartest cat in this group, but I can put two and two together and get **_something_** close to four. So again, I'm going to ask you…What is wrong?"

Cheetara's cheeks flushed scarlet as she listened to Lion-O's rather obvious explanation. The tears welled up in her eyes and she desperately tried to hold them back. She thought about her behavior over the last several months and she was appalled. Her latest night-terror was still fixed vividly in her mind, and using that as a guide, she could see clearly all of the mistakes she had made. As she mentally examined each one, and there were quite a few, she came to an alarming revelation. She had hurt them, she had hurt them all; and with that new understanding, the tears fell freely of their own accord. She finally saw how much harm had been done by both her actions and her failures to act. She finally understood that a large portion of the tension and discomfort that the group had been feeling lately was because of her. Cheetara had never considered herself to be a thoughtless cat, but when she realized exactly how much pain and anguish she had inadvertently caused to Lion-O, and for that matter the rest of the thundercats, it was a wonder that they didn't call her cruel. She was quickly brought out of her contemplations by the sound of Lion-O calling her name.

"Cheetara" Lion-O called with concern in his voice. He had been waiting patiently on a response to his question, but then he noticed that although Cheetara had been looking at him, she seemed to have been staring off at something, as if lost in thought. Then the tears came. The pained look on her face was almost too much for him to bear. She seemed to be tormented by whatever it was that she was seeing. "Cheetara…" he called again. He finally relaxed a little when she blinked her eyes for a moment and then looked directly at him again. "Are you okay? You seemed to really zone-out there for a minute."

"Um...No...Actually I'm not." She replied softly as she looked down to her coverings again and began to wipe away the tears that were running down her face. She took a few deep breaths to help her get her chaotic thoughts and emotions back under control. Once she had calmed herself and steeled her resolve, she lifted her eyes to meet Lion-O's gaze. What she saw there surprised her. There in his deep azure eyes, was a look of concern. It was etched all over his features. After all the hurt she had caused him, and she _knows _that she has hurt him the worst, he was still worried about her. That realization sent a jolt of pain searing through her as if she had just been stabbed in the heart. She felt her own guilt press down on her like a mountain, but she needed to get through this. She needed to tell him, and she needed to finally admit it out loud. "I am Sorry Lion-O…I have failed you… I have failed _you_, and I have failed them, and I have failed Jaga…" That newest thought, the one of failing Jaga after all the sacrifices he had made for them, that just added to her misery. "And I have failed myself….I have failed as a Cleric, I have failed as a companion, and I have failed as a friend…. I have made so many mistakes…I have betrayed you, and I have hurt you. I have hurt you so much… and because of my own stupidity… you… and maybe all of us… could have died…And I don't know what, if anything, I can do to fix it." She had maintained eye contact with Lion-O the entire time she was speaking, but once she was done, she hung her head in shame. The tears that she had been previously holding back now came rushing out against her will as she sobbed quietly. The truth of her words had hurt her, it had hurt deeply, but he deserved the truth.

"Cheetara…" he began, but then he suddenly stopped. He didn't know how he was going to respond to her. This wasn't what he was expecting to hear. Truthfully, He had been hurt by her; and if he was completely honest, he had felt _betrayed_ by her. But those feelings were on a personal level. He had never thought of her as a failure, especially not as a cleric. She had made some mistakes, that was true; But then again, so had he, and a lot of them. As he sat there pondering on this thought, he examined the cheetah before him. He really looked at her from head to toe. He realized this was NOT the same self-assured warrior he was used to seeing. Gone were her confidence and her fearlessness. Gone was her attitude that she could overcome anything. Instead, he was looking at a woman that was unsure of herself. She may have been afraid, which was something new to see on her, but she was determined to follow this thing through no matter what happens. Most of all, he was seeing his friend sitting and crying in front of him. She had apologized to him for the mistakes that she had made and for the pain she had caused him, and she was waiting for his response. At that moment, his heart was filled with compassion for her. He wasn't sure what they were going to do, or how long it would take, but somehow he knew that they would work things out.

"Hey Lion-O" he heard from behind him. He turned to see the Thunder-kittens coming up the trail on the far side of the camp, and he waved at them to indicate he had heard them. As he watched them coming he saw the outline of Panthero come into view some distance behind them.

Lion-O turned back to Cheetara and looked at her with a smile. "You may want to go and clean yourself up. I doubt you'd want anyone else to know that you've been crying." He stood before her and started to brush himself off. "Why don't you take some time for yourself too? Maybe meditate or something. You haven't done that in a while. I promise that I will find you later and then we can finish this without everyone being present, okay?"

Cheetara nodded her consent and quickly turned back to her bedroll. She started to gather up a few things that she knew she would need. She wanted desperately to go down by the river and wash her face. After that, she would find a place where she could be alone for a while. She needed to really examine the things she had learned today. She wanted to look at not only her actions, but what she was thinking when she did them. She needed to identify not only the 'what', but the 'why' to the choices she had made. That was the only way she could think of to make sure that she didn't make the same mistakes again. As she exited the camp and started walking to wards the river, she thought again of the look of concern she had seen on Lion-O's face. She did not know if he would _ever_ forgive her for all of the pain she had caused him. She didn't know if there was any way to make it up to him, or if there was any way to fix things, but she swore by the ancients, and _all_ that was sacred, she was going to try. That is, if he let her...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: sorry it took so olng to update, life happened. As always, I don't own the TC, I don't make anything off of them, I just like to write about them.

**Chapter 4**

Cheetara had just finished cleaning herself in the river as she went about gathering up her belongings. She had originally gone down there to wash the tear streaked dirt from her face; but after seeing that she would be alone for some time, she seized the rare opportunity to bathe. The cool water had been refreshing after her emotionally draining discussion with Lion-O, and it seemed to have revitalized her in a small way. The tension she had been holding onto for so long had finally ebbed, as if carried away by the river's gentle current.

Now as she was sitting on a tree stump along the river's edge, trying to dry the remaining moisture from her hair, she contemplated what she would do about these night-terrors she was having. She understood that it was because of them, that she now realized the many mistakes she had made. But what could she do to fix them? How would she repair her damaged relationships with her companions, and how would it affect her current relationship with Tygra? She admitted to herself that since becoming his mate, she had not spoken out against anything he had said or done. She had not even expressed an opinion that was different from his. She thought that she was just being supportive to him, but in truth she had lost her real self somewhere in the relationship, but that was going to change. She needed to stay true to the person she had previously been, her true self. After all, wasn't that the reason he was attracted to her in the first place?

She was drawn out of her contemplations by the sound of someone approaching. She turned to see Tygra heading her way down the path from the campsite. He had a distinct swagger in his step as he walked. He looked as if he were strutting as he came closer towards her and she could see there was a glint of pride in his eyes and a wide grin plastered along his lips. "Hey Cheetara" he called out to her. "You should see the size of the Caribou that I bagged this morning! It removes all doubt that _Yes_, I am _The Cat!_ Not only should we have a good meal tonight, but we should be able to cut up and dry enough meat strips to keep the food reserves up for a while." He opened his arms wide as he brought her in for a gentle hug.

"That's great Tygra," she responded with a genuine smile on her face as she returned the tiger's loving embrace. Although her smile was true, Tygra noticed it didn't come close to reaching her eyes. "What's wrong," he asked, a little worried. "I'm just trying to figure out how I am going to fix some things with the other Thundercats." She told him as she nuzzled her check into Tygra's neck. There was a somewhat downbeat tone in her voice. Tygra cocked his head to the side as he looked down at her. "Like what?" he inquired. "Well…" she paused for a moment, trying to arrange her thoughts so they would make sense, "I've made some mistakes recently, and they have been affecting the way we work together, especially with Lion-O."

"I should have known he'd be involved in this somehow, he is always screwing something up." he quipped with some irritation in his voice. Cheetara blinked in surprise at the statement, and leaned back to get a better look at him. "Tygra…why did you just say that?" she asked looking intently at him. "Well, its true" he replied "He is always screwing things up. He has ever since we were kids." Cheetara pushed back from him before addressing his statement. "You weren't listening were you? I said that _I_ was the one who made the mistakes, not him. Yet, you automatically assumed that _he_ did something wrong. Why is that Tygra, because you have been doing that a lot lately?" She folded her arms in front of her while she waited for his response.

"We've been lucky so far. Something always seems to go wrong with the plans he makes, even if they do turn out alright in the end. Yes, we've made some friends and alliances, but we still don't have a clear-cut plan on how to find the last stone or what we are going to do to defeat Mumm-Ra, _IF_ we get it. It's like we are floundering around in unknown water, trying not to drown ourselves. He always gets in over his head, and then it's up to me to save him."

"Tygra, you know that is not true. Lion-O has done very well considering he had this whole 'king' thing literally thrown on him. Although he does lack experience in _some_ areas, he is improving daily. Look at what he has done so far. The friendships and alliances he is making are strong ones. The events after the fall of Avista have proven that." The pride in her voice at Lion-O's accomplishments actually surprised her a little.

Tygra also heard the pride in her words, and that only made his jealous streak blaze up like a bonfire. "What made you suddenly decide to go spouting off Lion-O's accolades?" he said with growing heat as his temper began to flare. The look on his face was clearly showing his annoyance.

"I am not 'spouting off Lion-O's accolades'" she replied with a little heat of her own. She was beginning to feel more and more defensive. "I am doing what I should have been doing the entire time. Supporting our _King! _And whether you like it or not he _is_ our king." Cheetara's own anger was rising, and with it was the volume of her voice. "And so what if he made a few mistakes. We all have._ I_ certainly have, and so have you."

"What mistakes have I made?!" Tygra responded loudly, clearly on the defensive now. "Well…first, your great military training didn't help us much to navigate the Petalar's forest did it? You often mock or insult anyone that isn't just like you. Then your stupid pride nearly costs us the stones that we did have when you gambled them in Avista; and when Lion-O died and you were the king, we all ended up being captured. And who rescued both US _and_ the Sword of Omens that time…your brother." Cheetara was nearly shouting now, her whole body was tensed as waves of her anger rolled off of her. The inferno that blazed inside her was fueled largely by the knowledge that she had remained silent the whole time these things were happening, she had said _nothing._

Tygra was both hurt and furious now. He hated to be reminded of those particular failings, and he especially hated the fact that he had to be saved by his _little_ brother. He had no idea what caused this whole thing, and frankly, right now he didn't care. But he knew that nothing would be gained here by screaming at Cheetara. "I'm done with this." He said as he turned away from her. "I'm outta here!" with that, he strode off away from both Cheetara and the camp as he followed along the riverbank. He knew that he needed to calm down, and then afterwards he could try to figure out what just happened.

Cheetara's heart was pounding in her chest; her adrenaline coursing through her system. She watched silently as Tygra stormed away from her. Her own anger had not abated in the slightest; it was still burning with a fury inside of her. She knew that she could not return to the camp yet, not in her current state of mind. So she turned in opposite direction of Tygra and headed for an open meadow. She grabbed reflexively for her staff as she started to run. The familiar feeling of the object in her hand brought her a tiny bit of comfort. She_ really_ needed to go hit something now…hard…and repeatedly.

* * *

Sweat flowed down Cheetara's brow as she sailed through the air. Muscles tensed as she slammed her ironwood staff hard into the ground. She followed it up by performing a forward somersault, ending in a lateral scissors kick. Her chest was heaving and she was breathing heavily now as she continued her attack routine. How many hours had she been doing this now anyway? She could not remember. Her arms and legs were becoming heavy. Her body ached with fatigue, but this is what she had needed, what her mind seemed to crave… movement.

Cheetara easily flowed from one fighting form to another. For years she has conditioned her body with countless hours of training. Long days of practicing each strike, each block, and each hand position, repetitively until they were done correctly each time. She continued practicing until the movements had become second nature to her. _This_ was her strength. While the other clerics trained until they got the forms right, Cheetara trained until she _never_ got them wrong. She had trained herself repeatedly until she had perfected each form, then she proceeded onto the next one. Eventually, the transitioning became easier and the forms began to merge. They would to blend into each other like an extravagantly choreographed dance; the sequence never mattered, because she could interchange them at will.

That was when it finally it happened; she got to the point where her body seemed to move on its own accord, acting without conscious thought. It was here in this state, that her mind gained what it so desperately sought after… peace, and freedom.

As she had done so many times before, she used this freedom to mentally examine all the burdens that she and her companions had gone through since the beginning of this journey. While she acknowledged the things she had done right, she scrutinized the many things she did wrong. She visualized each mistake as a target in front of her, each failure as an enemy. She analyzed each action as if it were an attack, countering each thought until she obliterated the image. This was how she worked things through, it brought her clarity, and with that clarity came understanding. At least… that's how it was supposed to work.

This time was very different though. Try as she might, she could not achieve any clarity in her thoughts, and understanding…. that was nowhere to be found. Her emotions were still too raw, still too exposed, like a fresh wound that has not yet scabbed over. She could see, now, how her actions and inactions had hurt her friends. How her poorly worded comments had caused them pain. Mostly, she remembered her dreams. The images of her friends dying gruesomely because of her mistakes still remained. They were as vivid as ever, it was if they had been branded permanently into her mind. She ha thought about it long and hard, but the question still remained, just what was she going to do about it? She would not find the answers she sought though, because she was brought out of her musings by the sound of her name being called.

"Cheetara," Lion-O called out to her. She finally looked in his direction, acknowledging that he was there. He was leaning against a large rock, holding a towel out for her and smiling. He had originally come just to check on her, to see if she was doing any better. She had left the camp several hours ago, and never returned. He knew that she wanted to be alone to think some things over, but he had started to worry. As he came upon the meadow, he saw that she was practicing her clerical forms. He had seen her practice the forms many times before in the past, and every time it was a sight to behold. Seeing that she was safe, he felt a little foolish. He was going to apologize for interrupting her, but it became evident that she had not noticed his approach. She appeared to be in deep thought and he did not want to disturb her. Instead, he leaned against a large rock that was nearby and began simply watching her. Seeing Cheetara practice was like watching poetry in motion. Her lithe, athletic body moved with a fluidity and grace that would make even the greatest of dancers envious. Her balance and timing far surpassed anything Lion-O had seen at the ballets his father had taken him to while he was growing up. With a final shout and the slamming of her staff into the ground by her feet, Cheetara completed her attack routine, but she did not move from that spot. She gazed off into the distance, as if lost in thought, oblivious to her surroundings. Lion-O Watched as she stood there. He saw her windblown hair messed around her flushed cheeks, strands of it sticking in place because she was covered in sweat. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed in and out deeply, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt, that he has never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. Luckily, Lion-O snapped out of his gawking before she noticed he was there. He needed to calm himself down and suppress these feelings seemed to be coming back with so much vengeance. So he put a smile on his face, picked up the towel that she had left by the rock and called out her name.

Cheetara walked up and took the towel that he was offering her. "Lion-O, how long have you been there?" "Just a little while," he responded, "I didn't want to disturb you, but it looked like you just finished your routine." She noticed there was a slight reddening of his face when he answered her, and he didn't hold her gaze as long as he normally did. For some reason this pleased her a little. "Yeah, I was. I was just thinking about... some things."

Lion-O leaned back against the rock next to him as he looked at her for a moment. After coming to a quick decision, he realized that now was as good a time as any, so he looked her in the eyes and asked her "Do you want to talk about those Night-terrors now? There is nobody else around, and I'd like to know what part I play in all of this."

Cheetara sighed as she looked at the ground for a moment before returning her gaze to meet his. "No," she replied, "Truthfully, I don't want to talk about it at all" she paused a moment steeling up her resolve, "But you're right, nobody is around, and I will have to talk about it eventually. I suppose now is just as good a time as any. We never know when we'll ever get time to ourselves anymore."

She sighed to herself as she sat on the ground in front of him, motioning for him to do so as well. After they made themselves comfortable she began explaining the kinds of dreams she had been having. She described how she had made the same mistakes as she did in real life, but the outcomes of her missions and battles had changed vastly because of those decisions. The tears started rolling down her face as she told him how her actions often led to his demise and sometimes others as well. She also described how vivid and gruesome the tortures and deaths in her night-terrors were, which was why she often woke up screaming.

Lastly, she told him of the dream where he sat in judgment of her crimes and how all of her faults had been laid before her. "The worst part of it," she said, barely keeping herself from sobbing. "Was when I woke up, I realized that it was all true…I have been negligent; and my actions in that canyon were not only a dereliction of my duty, they were borderline treasonous!"

Lion-O's heart was almost near its breaking point. He hated seeing the cheetah maiden in so much pain. He had watched her closely as she was speaking to him. He not only heard the distress in her voice but could actually see her torment in her body language. "Come here," he softly stated as he opened his arms for her.

Cheetara moved over to him and leaned down into his embrace. Her tears began soaking into his shirt as she nuzzled his chest, but she didn't care. She placed her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. She had no idea how things would work out, but she felt that they would.

"Everything will be okay," Lion-O whispered into her mane as he wrapped his arms around her. Without even thinking about it he began to gently rock her from side to side. He held her close as the rocked, trying to impart as much comfort and compassion as he could to her. "I don't think what you did was treasonous." He told her as they continued to rock, "I think you made a judgment call in the middle of a battle. You did what you thought was best at that time to save Tygra." He paused for a short time, and then he asked her "If we were in the same situation now, would you do the same thing?"

"No," came her reply. "I wouldn't. I will not abandon you again."

"Then we move on." He told her, "You've made some mistakes, we all do. They were not catastrophic, so you learn from them, and try not to make the same mistakes twice." After a moment, he got an idea. He lifted her chin so that she could see him, then teasingly said, "You'll just have to think up new ones to make."

She giggled at his remark, and lowered to head back to his chest. Today was emotionally exhausting for her and she was grateful for the comfort her friend was giving her. Until that moment, she never realized just how much she truly needed it. It also made her realize that Lion-O had probably needed comfort many times along their journey, and she had not been there to give it to him. She made up her mind right then and there that she would be there for him no matter what. He was here for her when she needed him, even after she had hurt him, so by the ancients she would do the same for him; and the Abyss take anyone that tried to stop her…..


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

An unknown campsite…

Several days later…

The early morning air was chilled as Lion-O drew his cloak around himself. He knew he would be warmer if he was closer to the campfire like the other thundercats, but he also knew that the fire's light would severely hamper his night vision. He already learned that lesson long ago. No, he would just draw his cloak tighter around himself and continue his circuit around the perimeter of the camp. There were still several hours before sunrise, but he could at least make it until the end of his watch before warming himself by the fire. He took this time to practice his new stealth technique, silently ghosting between the shadows that outlined the edges of the camp. After reaching the next outcropping of bushes, he stopped to scan the surrounding area.

Before he could move on, a faint sound caught his attention. It sounded almost like moaning, and it was coming from _inside_ the camp. As he turned to survey the interior of the camp, he observed the other members of his team as they slept in their bedrolls. When his eyes finally fell on his cleric, he noticed that she was thrashing wildly about inside of her coverings, like she was wrestling some unseen enemy. He recognized that she was in the midst of another night terror and started towards her. As he drew nearer, he could make out the words she was saying, "no…stop… DON'T!" She bolted upright as the last word escaped her mouth. Her breath coming in gasps, and her arm was stretched out as if she were trying to reach for something. She darted her head from side to side, and looked as if she were trying to get her bearings as to where she was.

Lion-O stopped dead in his tracks when Cheetara woke like that. The last thing he wanted to do was to frighten her even more. Besides, the act of approaching her before she had time to process who you were, especially in her current state of mind, could be hazardous to your health. In fact, _that_ would be a beating just waiting to happen. "Cheetara," he called softly to her. He wanted to announce his presence without waking the others, "It's alright, you just had a bad dream."

Cheetara looked up when she heard her name called. She recognized that it was Lion-O standing a few yards away from her and that she was, in fact, safe within the campsite with the others. With a nod, she acknowledged his statement and set about freeing herself while the sleep induced fog that was on her mind started to lift. As she untangled herself from her blankets, she moved her gaze around the campsite. She was relieved to find that none of the other thundercats had awakened. As she looked to her right, she was glad to see that Tygra was still sleeping a few feet away from her. He had taken to sleeping just out of arms reach after that incident three nights ago. During that episode, she was fighting a nightmarish version of Grune in her dreams when Tygra placed his hand on her to order to wake her. Unfortunately, this had startled her and she drove her knee very hard into a rather sensitive part of the tiger's anatomy. The poor guy mewled like a little kitten and had difficulties walking for the majority of the next day. _Now that I think about it, all of the male cats seemed to have problems walking when they found out what happened to him….hhmmm._ Knowing that she had the next shift on watch, she decided to get up. She doubted that she would be able to get any more sleep before needed to start anyway.

Meanwhile…

Lion-O had relaxed when Cheetara nodded her understanding to him. He watched her as she looked around at the other occupants and observed the tension leave her posture when she realized no one else had woken up. He even noticed how her gaze lingered a bit longer than usual on his brother. Figuring that night vision was shot by coming into camp, he walked over to the fire and began to build it back up. Once he had it going nicely again, he sat down on a large log that had been placed next to the fire and extended his hands to soak up some of the heat. It was nice to finally get warm again and since Cheetara seemed to be getting up, he decided to stay nearby until it was time for her to take over. Looking over at the cheetah, his thoughts began to wander over all the problems she was experiencing lately. He knew that after talking to him about her night-terrors several days ago, she had gone to each of the others and apologized for her mistakes and behavior. All of them had forgiven her, and things appeared to be improving. She even had fewer night-terrors, but something was still…off. She acted fine, but he could sense that she wasn't. He just didn't know what it was, or what to do about it. He was brought out of this musings when Cheetara sat herself down next to him.

"Hey, how is it out there?" she asked, nodding to the outside of the camp.

"A little chilly, but overall everything seems quite. _You_ were the most commotion I've heard in the last two hours." He replied while bumping his shoulder into hers playfully. Her cheeks turned a very appealing shade of scarlet at his teasing, and she looked down in a brief moment of embarrassment. "Seriously though, are you okay?" he asked once she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I'm doing alright. This one wasn't that bad comparatively." She replied, "It's the same old thing, I screw up and somebody else pays for it."

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" he responded back to her, looking at her questioningly. "You've made a few mistakes, and a couple of poor choices, but you never really screwed anything up."

Cheetara just sighed in frustration at him and then silently stared off into the fire, completely lost in thought.

After a few minutes of silence, Lion-O couldn't take it any more. "Cheetara…." He waited until she looked at him before he continued. "What's wrong? I know that you act like everything is just fine, but it's not. I can tell that something is still bothering you. What is it?" he asked sincerely.

She frowned after hearing this; it figures it would be _him_ to pick up on her mood. The young king _always_ seems to know when something is wrong with her. After a few minutes of silent contemplation she decided to just give in. "I'm having a problem understanding how you guys, and you specifically, forgave me so easily. Why?! I feel like I should be punished in some manner, and I'm not. I mean after all, you could have died if things had gone differently and it would have been my fault. So why aren't you angrier?" she exclaimed.

Lion-O looked at her in surprise. After a moment of deliberation he asked, "Do you _really_ want to know why? The absolute truth? Even if it's not the reason you think it is?"

Cheetara's eyes widened a little and her mouth became dry. "Yes, I do."

Lion-O sighed and shifted himself so that he was looking directly at her. "I forgave you because I needed to. Forgiving you was for my benefit as much as it was for yours, more so in fact."

Cheetara wasn't expecting that, she quirked her eyebrow at him and just stared, waiting for him to continue. "Hold on," he said, noting that she was waiting for more details. He looked around and found a stick lying on the ground. He picked it up and started drawing in the loose dirt. After sketching a heart in the ground, he drew a number of little circles inside of it. "This is our heart" he began, making sure she could see what he was doing. "and these little circles are negative emotions. When someone wrongs us, or does something bad to us, we feel any number of these negative emotions. They could be anything, ranging from Anger, Bitterness, Envy, Fear, Guilt or even Hatred." He took a breath and continued to draw more circles. "The longer we hold on to these bad emotions, the more they fester and multiply, getting worse and worse. Pretty soon, there is no more room left. When that happens, the positive emotions like Compassion, Charity, Friendship, Patience and _Love_…They can no longer enter into our hearts, and that leaves us cold, hard, or even heartless." Lion-O reached down and erased all the circles inside the heart drawing, "When we forgive that person, _Truly_ forgive them, then we get rid of all those bad emotions and allow the good ones to enter. That's why I forgave you so easily; if I didn't, I risked becoming something I don't want to be."

Lion-O turned to see the most bewildered look on Cheetara's face. She just sat there staring at him in disbelief. "Where did…I mean… that was really… insightful, Lion-O" she said blushing at her inability to make a coherent sentence.

"Thanks, it should be" Lion-O replied with a smirk on his face. "Jaga had to teach it to me more that once before _I_ finally understood it." Upon hearing this, Cheetara let out a fit of giggles which caused Lion-O to chuckle as well. "I don't know if you realized this," he mentioned after catching his breath, "but Tygra and I never really got along that well before this" he tried his best to say this with a straight face…he failed miserably.

"_Realllly_, I never would have guessed that about you two.' She answered in mock surprise.

"No, seriously," he continued, "after one really bad fight, Jaga overheard my pleas to the ancients to do some bodily harm to my brother. After investigating what happened, he sat me down and explained to me that I needed to learn how to forgive. Luckily, Tygra gave me a lot of practice with that over the years. Nothing was ever real bad between us; we just liked to annoy one another on occasion." Lion-O threw the stick onto the fire and turned back to Cheetara, "Now what _you_ have to learn is how to forgive yourself."

Cheetara sat up a little defensively, "I have no idea what…" before she could finish, Lion-O cut her Off. "Will you can the act please." he exclaimed. "You and I are a lot alike in some ways. We _Both _hold ourselves to a higher standard. We are _both_ our own worse critics. And when we do make mistakes we are harder on ourselves that anyone else ever could be. So I know what you're going through. Those feelings of Anger, Guilt and disappointment are just as negative when we feel them about ourselves as they are when we feel them about others. More so in fact, because we can't blame anyone else."

"You never messed up the way that I did." She revealed looking down at he ground.

"Oh really" he stated, and then held up a single finger. "First, I told no-one what the sword showed me before the fall of Thundera," then he added a second finger, "I felt that I should have done more to save my Father then later Jaga. Both of them died for me." Then he held up a third finger, "Then there was the way I acted with Captain Tunar and the Fish folk" then the fourth digit came up, "Then there was Pumyra" and lastly he added his thumb, "and finally we lost the Tech stone. So yeah, I think I have." He waited a moment and took a deep breath to calm himself back down. Then he reached over and placed his paw on top of hers . "But do you know what got me over those things?" he questioned with sympathy in his voice. Cheetara looked up into his eyes and saw the compassion there. She just nodded to her head. "Something another wise cleric once told me. 'We have the sword, we have each other, and we have hope'" he smiled when she blushed at hearing her own words used against her. "So I'm going to modify that wisdom and pass it back to you. We have the sword, we have hope, and we have _Each Oth_er. All of us are here for each other. My brother, The Kits, Panther-O and I will be here if you need us. You don't have to go through anything alone. I've had to lean on you guys at different times, what is so wrong about you leaning on us?"

Cheetara felt the corners of mouth rise of their own volition. "You're right; I do have all of you. I guess it's just hard to ask for help when you're the one used to giving it."

"Well, get over it." It replied in a teasing tone. "And besides, there is another reason you need to forgive yourself" he told her in a playful voice.

"Oh, and what might that be?" she responded back also in a playful tone.

"I'm the King, and I have already forgiven you." He stated sticking his chest out in mock pride. "And it would not set a good precedence if my cleric keeps questioning my decisions." He then lifted his chin and tried to look as pompous as he could.

"Oh very well _Your Majesty!_" she replied with as much sarcasm as possible while standing up and giving Lion-O and deep curtsy. Both of them started laughing so hard that Wiley-Kat was startled awake. He just rolled over and went back to sleep grumbling, while the two giggling adults tried to quiet themselves down.

"Are you good now?" Lion-O asked as she seated herself back onto the log they were sharing. "Yeah, I'm good now." She answered with a wide grin on her face. "Why don't you get some sleep, it's my turn for watch. You've given me a lot to think about"

"Okay, I'm off to bed. Have a good morning Cheetara. Remember, if you ever need to talk about anything, you know where I am." With that the young lion stood up and headed over to his bedroll.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks." She replied as she also stood. Cheetara looked down at the drawing and took her foot to wipe away the remnants of their talk. She reached for the staff and extended it to its six foot length as she prepared to begin her watch. She turned back to watch the young king as he readied himself for bed. _He's right_, she mused to herself_, It's time to forgive myself and move forward. So what if I've made mistakes, I have friends that will forgive me and help me get past them._ She then turned her gaze towards the Tiger that was sleeping only a few feet from her own bedroll. A strange thought then popped into hear mind as she switched from Tygra back to Lion-O, _Maybe… maybe I made more mistakes than I thought…_

To be continued….

_A/N: Please leave a review, your comments, good and bad, only help me improve my writing! Thanks!_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the delay in writing, many things have happened. Thank-you for all those who took the time to review and respond it helped me a great deal. As always, I don't own the TC or make any money off of them. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 6

_Several weeks later…_

As the first rays of the morning sun began to shine in the horizon, Cheetara busied herself with building up the fire and beginning the preparations for the morning meal. She had already been up for hours, having drawn the last shift of the evening watch, and as she was setting things out, her mind began to wander.

_A few hours earlier…_

She enjoyed this particular time of the day. The quiet and solitude of the early morning had allowed her some time to meditate completely undisturbed. She was pleased with the progress she was making; she had not had a night-terror in the last ten days. Her continued talking with Lion-O was helping her immensely. She had tried to talk with Tygra about her night-terrors and the revelations they had given her to no avail. Although he tried to be sympathetic and supportive, he could offer no insight because this was outside of his normal expertise and quite frankly waayyy out of his comfort zone. This aggravated him terribly because he was a 'fixer'. If there was a problem, he went in and corrected it; but this was something that he couldn't just fix, and he had no idea of what to do or how to help her. In the end, Cheetara decided to keep the discussions about her dreams between only herself and Lion-O. The young lion king was incredibly easy to talk to; he would listen attentively as she spoke, he didn't interrupt her, and he would wait patiently as she tried to figure out how to express her thoughts and feelings in words. He would offer comments and opinions when they were warranted, he was always positive and supportive, and when she needed to vent her frustrations, he would sit there and calmly take her yelling, ranting, and raving without a hint of annoyance.

After her meditation, Cheetara ran through her morning routine of elaborate static and dynamic stretching. Although she was probably the fastest being on Third Earth, that speed came at a cost. Leg injuries were very common to the cheetah clans. Severe leg cramps and sprained ankles were certainly the most prevalent ailments, but more damaging ones like ripping ligaments or severing the Achilles tendon were not unheard of. In order to prevent these impairments from happening, she made a habit of stretching and using some small controlled movements several times a day. Cheetara worked diligently on maintaining the strength and flexibility of her joints and extremities; this not only helped to prevent those injuries, but also helped her with her fighting prowess as well. Not only did her flexibility aid her in the acrobatics she so often employed, but many of the commonly known joint locks and bars were ineffective when used against her. These were just some of the many precautions she took to keep herself in 'tip-top' fighting shape. She always needed to be ready, because she never knew when her life, or more importantly the lives of others, would depend on it.

_Presently…_

Cheetara's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of people rustling out of their bedrolls. She looked up to see the other thundercats had woken up, probably from the smell of the cooking food she was preparing, and were slowly working their way to the campfire. Lion-O was the first to reach her and her eyes brightened immediately when he approached. "Good Morning" she told him as she handed him his plate. "Morning" he replied as he gratefully accepted it. He flashed her a boyish grin and playfully asked, "Why are you so perky today?" Seeing the teasing look on his face, Cheetara decided to play along, "What, I can't be in a good mood for once?" she chided, placing her hands on her hips and leveling a hard stare at the young lion, "or am I doomed to be gloomy and moody for the rest of my life?" Cheetara was mildly impressed with herself that she could actually say that with a straight face, but she really had to work at it when Lion-O threw up his one hand (the one not holding his food) and with a look of mock terror on his face responded "Oh No! Anything but that! Please, I surrender!" After a few seconds of silently staring at each other, both of them busted into a fit of laughter. After laughing heartily for several moments, Cheetara was the first one to compose herself. "So, you _CAN_ be taught... I'll have to remember that for the future." She stated as she turned back, still giggling, to prepare another plate of food.

"Well, aren't you two just bundles of joy this morning." Tygra grumbled as he walked up to the campfire, clearly glaring at Lion-O. Panther-O, Wiley-Kit, and Wiley-Kat had also decided join them at that moment, and were now carefully watching as the scene unfolded. The tension in Tygra's posture was evident to everyone that looked at him, and Cheetara thought that she could actually feel the animosity radiate off of him.

Deciding to take action before anything really started, Cheetara walked over to the tiger and handed him his plate. "Now you stop that" she gently scolded as she lifted up onto her toes to place a quick kiss on his lips. "Lion-O and I were just playing around. It's a nice day, and I'm in a really good mood today, don't ruin it for me." She held his gaze until he finally nodded his consent, "Okay, but only for you." Tygra stated with an obvious frown on his face. "Thank-you" she returned as she leaned in for another quick kiss before heading back to dish up plates of food for the rest of the waiting thundercats.

While this was transpiring, Lion-O had seated himself on one of the boulders on the other side of the fire. He purposely tried to put some distance between himself and the couple in front of him. The last thing he wanted right now was to get into yet another fight with his brother over Cheetara. That was an occurrence that had become more and more frequent since he started helping her with the night-terrors. Tygra seemed to be agitated all the time now; the strangest part was that Lion-O had no idea why. The only thing he and Cheetara ever did was talk. After the first fight, Lion-O made a conscience attempt to ensure that he did not do anything that could be taken the wrong way. He suggested that Cheetara go talk with Tygra about her dreams. When that didn't go so well, he invited Tygra to sit in with them and just listen. That also did not go well. Afterwards when it was just the cheetah and him, he made sure to keep a respectful distance while they talked, not to far away as to imply that he was uninterested, but not too close to suggest anything unwanted. He made sure that he did not touch her more than was appropriate, and when they did touch that he not linger any more than was necessary. He encouraged her to spend time with Tygra and even made excuses for them to be alone when they made camp. He did everything in his power not to be a hindrance to their relationship, and still Tygra was irritated with him. He just didn't understand what his brother's problem was.

_Meanwhile..._

Tygra watched as Cheetara walked back to dish up the remaining food, and he felt like his stomach was dropping to his feet. He was losing her, losing the best thing that had ever happened to him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He found himself a seat by the dwindling fire and began to unsuccessfully eat his meal. He looked over to where Lion-O was sitting and his temper flared again. He couldn't believe he was losing Cheetara to his brother, his _younger_ brother, and the worst part of all of this was that the little punk wasn't even trying to get her. Tygra wasn't stupid, and he wasn't unobservant. He knew that Lion-O and Cheetara shared some kind of connection between them; anyone who watched them could see that. And Tygra did watch them, frequently. When they talked, he noticed that her shoulders were relaxed, her body language was open, and she appeared to be more comfortable with Lion-O than she ever was with him. He also noticed that they seem to be gravitating more towards each other. Whether this was conscience or not, he wasn't sure, and the distance they allowed between each other was continuously getting smaller. If one left the camp, it wasn't long before the other left to go search them. While in camp, if one got up and moved out of their 'range' then the other would get up for something or adjust until they were back in it. It was like some force was preventing them from being apart for too long.

Tygra took a deep breath and turned away from his brother. He needed to calm himself down. He knew that Lion-O wasn't intentionally trying to take her away from him, in fact the opposite was true, and that was what was really pissing him off.

_One Week Ago…_

_While Scouting a Path through the Ironwood Forest…_

"Hey Tygra, you got a minute?" Lion-O asked while watching his brother shimmy down from his vantage point high up in the nearest tree.

"What do you want Lion-O?" he responded as he dropped the few remaining feet to the ground.

"I was talking with Panther-O earlier, and he mentioned that we should be coming up on a large town within the next week or so." He explained off-handily.

"Yeah and? What is it you want to do?" he replied as he dusted off his paws and started brushing some tree bark off of his shirt. He was slowly making his way back towards him.

"I was thinking of taking the kits on a picnic for an afternoon, and thought maybe you could take Cheetara into town for the day or..." He never got to finish his statement because Tygra had abruptly cut him off. "_I_ Don't Need _YOUR_ Help with Cheetara, Lion-O" he attested loudly while leveling a baleful glare at the lion. "I was the one she chose, Remember!"

"Of Course I Remember, Tygra" Lion-O shot back just as loud, all the while returning his stare. "I'm not and idiot you know. I can _see_ that she chose you. I see it everyday. I see it when you kiss her, I see it when you hold her in your arms, and I see every night when you lay down next to her. And if that's not enough, you remind me every chance you can. I get it, _She's Yours_. That's why I'm trying to help you, you _MORON_!"

Normally, he would never have allowed Lion-O to call him a name without some form of retribution, but right then he was just too shocked to process that part of the comment. "What do you mean you're trying to _HELP_ me? When have you ever _HELPED_ me with Cheetara?!" Tygra shouted.

"Really," Lion-O yelled back. "Who do you think keeps the kits busy so she can come sit with you? Who do you think encourages her to find you whenever she has a free minute? And who do you think has been doing all the extra chores to give you two the time to be alone?! The only thing I haven't done is hold her hand and escort her to your _BEDROLL!_"

Tygra felt like he just got slapped in the face. Of all the possible things to say, he never expected that. He knew that she had been having more time for him recently, but he never guessed that Lion-O was the cause of that.

Lion-O took a deep breath to calm himself before he began to speak. "Look, it's like what you said earlier. She chose YOU. For whatever reason, you make her happy; or at least you used to. I don't know what your problem is, but you need to fix it. We've been traveling for weeks together without a break, and everyone is starting to get on each other's nerves. I'm obviously getting on yours, and you're definitely getting on mine. That's why I thought you might like a day alone with her. Take her to dinner or the Bazaar or whatever it is that you do, just be with her." he told him as he started to turn away. Just then, he stopped in mid-step and looked back at his older brother, "Or don't. I really don't care anymore." With that Lion-O began walking back to the Thundertank leaving the tiger alone with his thoughts.

_Back in the present…_

The meal was finished and the team was already breaking down the camp. "If all goes well today, we should reach a large town by nightfall." Lion-O announced to the group. "We will be staying around there for a few days. We need to get supplies, and we all need a break from the constant traveling we've been doing."

"Yeah! Maybe we can get some Candy-Fruit there." Wiley-Kit exclaimed to her brother as she bounced up and down.

"Good, that will give me some time to work on my Baby." Panther-O said to Lion-O, "She needs a little loving care after that Ironwood forest." Lion-O just chuckled as he watch the panther glance at his pride and joy. Soon they were all packed and were headed on their way.

_Later that Night…_

The thundercats arrived outside the city of Altintas just before sunset. They quickly set up camp, but decided to wait until the morning before they did any exploring or venturing into town. After dinner, the cubs were so anxious that they took forever to settle down enough to actually get to sleep. Panther-O volunteered for the first shift on watch that night, so he left the others to go set up the perimeter lines. Lion-O decided to turn in early because he would be the next one on watch duty. This left Tygra and Cheetara sitting alone to enjoy the campfire in the cool evening air.

"Cheetara," he asked softly as he gazed at the beautiful cheetah next to him.

"Yes," she replied as she basked in the warmth the fire was providing.

"Since we are going to be here for a while, I was wondering if you would spend one of the days in town with me. It'll be just the two of us."

"Tygra! I would love that." She agreed eagerly, "I can't wait!" With that she proceeded to snuggle up next to him and lay her head on his shoulder. _This is just what we need_ she thought to herself. They had become distant with each other over that last few weeks. It was like they weren't connecting anymore; the spark and the passion that they once had just seemed to be missing. She really hoped that this time together would fix whatever was off between them; she hated that feeling that something was wrong. Whatever it was, she was sure they could work it out, right now she couldn't wait for morning to come.

_Later that morning…_

Cheetara awoke with a gasp. Her breathing was ragged and her heart was beating so loudly she was certain everyone could hear it. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she knew her cheeks were flushed. _It was just a dream_ she thought to herself. With shaky hands she brushed her blonde hair back from her face as she turned over in her bedroll. Tygra, who had once again braved sleeping close by, was snuggled up next to her. Upon feeling her stir, he opened his eyes, gazing sleepily at the lovely cheetah.

He quickly noticed that she was breathing rapidly and that her body was trembling. "Did you have another bad dream Cheetara?" he asked sleepily. Gently he rubbed his hand up and down her arm, trying to soothe and comfort her.

After a moment of thought, she replied, "This dream wasn't that bad, just seemed very real, that's all." For the very first time, she was thankful that she had recently been having night-terrors. "I'm sorry Tygra, I didn't mean to wake you. I just need a few minutes to settle myself down. Go ahead and go back to sleep"

"Okay, are you sure?" he responded with a groggy voice.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine in a few minutes. Goodnight."

"'Night" he whispered back, sleep already overtaking him.

Carefully, so as not to wake him, Cheetara rolled back over to her side facing away from the tiger. Her vivid dream was still in the forefront of her mind as she took a deep breath trying to calm herself. Yes, her pulse was still racing, and she was still feverish. Her body was continuing to shiver slightly and her stomach felt all jumbled inside, but it definitely was _NOT_ from fear. She could still feel the powerful arms of her dream lover as they cradled her gently, lovingly, protectively. Her skin still tingled where his hands had teasingly caressed her, and her body quivered at the memory of those little love bites he placed on her shoulders and how they had inflamed her passion. A chill ran down her spine as she imagined his heavy, masculine scent surrounding her, enveloping her, something she never experienced with… anyone, before. She still craved the addictive taste of his lips as he repeatedly captured hers in one searing kiss after another. Cheetara's body convulsed as she thought of the way his tongue felt on that secret, sensitive spot on the back of her neck; but what she remembered the most, what she couldn't get out of her mind, was that look of unadulterated love he had for her. A love that was so true and so pure that its intensity took her breath away was held in the eyes of the deepest Cerulean Blue….

to be continued...

A/N: please take the time to review, good or bad. your comments help me to improve my writing skills so I can bring you a better story. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this new chapter posted. Life happened, and I simply didn't have the time. It was also difficult with all these ideas bouncing around in my head, I could stop until they were all out. I hope you enjoy, and remember, I don'yown the TC or make anything off of them._

Chapter 7

The next day brought with it an excitement that was almost palpable. Everyone was more than ready to head into town and enjoy themselves for a while. Even the usually stoic Panther-O was anxious to see what it had to offer. As they were all preparing to leave for the day, Lion-O couldn't help but notice that something was wrong with Cheetara. Her normally bright and chipper attitude was missing today. She was quiet and withdrawn, and she seemed to be avoiding both Tygra and Lion-O.

Tygra had mentioned that she had another night-terror last night; perhaps that was the reason why, though Lion-O thought this was a little odd. She would normally seek him out after a night-terror and they would discuss it. She had always told him that talking it through helped her understand it better and made it easier to deal with. Maybe, with the excitement of going into town, she just didn't want to bother him with it yet. Whatever the reason, he made a mental note to ask her about it later.

The city of Altintas was very busy this morning. Although it was paled in comparison to Thundera, it was still the largest city in the region, and today marked the opening of the harvest fair. As such, hundreds of people have come from the surrounding areas to buy, sell, or trade their goods. There were Cats and Dogs, Rabbits and Birds, Badgers and Rodents, and a variety of other species present making the crowd appear to be a massive wave of pulsating colors and shapes.

Storekeepers began to open their shops for the day; sweeping their sidewalks, placing their samples out front, and greeting the people and they passed on by. Children raced one another or played games, as families moved their way down the streets browsing the goods as the went. Vendors set up their various wares in stalls within the large open Bazaar at the far end of town, calling to the passersby to come and view their displays.

The eyes on both of the Wiley-kits were as wide as saucers as they took in the festive view. Their mouths began to water as they looked upon the large open eatery. There were booths that offered different foods and drinks, tables set out for customers to sit and enjoy their meals and a large stage where bands or other performers could entertain the crowds. There was even a roped off area where patrons could dance to the lively music. "Can we try some of the food Lion-O" the kits begged simultaneously, "Can we…PLEASE!"

Lion-O chuckled out loud as he looked into the pleading faces of the young twins. "Of course we can get some food." He replied. The other thundercats were also snickering at the children's antics, but they all agreed that food sounded like a good idea. They sampled the various foods from different booths and all of it tasted great. After deciding what they wanted, they purchased their meals and sat down to eat.

"Since we will be here for a few days, and the harvest fair will be going on all week," Lion-O began, "I think we should buy all of our _necessary_ supplies now. That way when we come back, we can just enjoy ourselves." He then nonchalantly shot a questioning look towards his brother. Realizing what the look meant, Tygra nodded his head, very slightly, up and down. "In fact, we could even pick up a few things for a Picnic" the lion stated, bringing his hand to his chin in mock consideration, "What do you say guys" he finally asked looking directly at the Wiley kittens, "Would you like that?"

The cubs both cheered their agreement and rushed over to thank the young king, nearly tackling him to the ground in the process. Meanwhile, as this was going on, Tygra leaned over and whispered to Cheetara "and while they are off at their picnic, we can enjoy our day together without any interruptions." The cheetah's cheeks blushed red as she looked down and simply nodded.

The rest of the time there went by swiftly. They were able to buy all of the necessary supplies they needed as well as a few extra treats for their picnic. Tygra even managed to make some mental notes of special places he wanted to take Cheetara on their date. On their way back to camp, Lion-O called Kit and Kat over to him and related what they needed to do before their big day. "I want to get as much done as we can today," he explained, "That way, we have all day tomorrow to enjoy ourselves. So that means we gather as much firewood and water as we can and do everything else that we need to do, so that after breakfast tomorrow we can head straight out." "Okay Lion-O," came their response. They couldn't wait to have a whole day to themselves with nothing to do but relax and play.

Once they had made their way back to camp, the team divided the work between them. Each cat was looking forward to a day of relaxation, for his or her own personal reasons. So it was imperative that they took care of their responsibilities now, so as not to prevent them from making the most of their time later. The twins took the buckets down to the river to fetch the water while Lion-O grabbed an axe and headed off to the forest to get their firewood. Now, Lion-O was against cutting down any tree just for firewood, fortunately there was plenty of fallen trees and logs around that were available for their use. Unfortunately, many of them were just too big to be carried or pulled to the campsite, which is why Lion-O had brought the axe.

An hour or so later, Cheetara found herself walking through the woods in search of her king. He had gone out to get firewood and hadn't come back yet. As she followed the sound of wood being chopped, she came upon a sight that stopped her short. There in a clearing only a few yards away form her, was Lion-O placing a log onto a level stump. His shirt was laying on a nearby rock, and he was covered in a thick layer of sweat. She wrapped her hand around a small branch of a nearby sandalwood tree as she silently gazed at him. His glistening body was reflecting the day's sunlight, giving his outline a radiant glow. She watched closely as the corded muscles in his back rippled and moved as he lifted the axe high above his head; and she saw the powerful sinews in his arms as he effortlessly brought the axe down with enough force to split the log in half. She was somewhat surprised at how fluidly he moved as he first repositioned the wood, and then returned to his original spot so that he could repeat the process.

That was when she was hit by a wave of his masculine scent. Her eyes snapped shut and she gasped as images of the previous night's dream came flooding into her mind. The smell of his body and the taste of his skin came rushing back to her, along with a torrent of other memories. She could actually feel the touch of his hands, so gentle and loving, that her skin began to tingle. So unexpected was this onslaught, that if she had not been holding on to that tree, she probably would have stumbled and fell.

Lion-O heard a sound behind him, when he turned he saw the profile of his cleric. Her eyes were closed and it looked like the only thing holding her up was her grasp on the tree she was standing next to. "Cheetara!" he called as he dropped the axe and rushed to her side; reaching for her to ensure that she wouldn't fall. "Are you okay?"

Cheetara's eyes flew open as soon as she heard her name. A second later and _he_ was by her side supporting her. Being this close to him was making her head swim, why was her body reacting this way? She realized at that moment that he was asking her something, but the words just didn't quite register. _By the Ancients why does he smell so... _"Yes Lion-O," she finally replied, blinking her eyes and shaking her head a little. His words had finally clicked in her mind. "I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy there for a moment." She paused for a second, and then continued, "I just need a little time and something to drink and I'll be alright." The cheetah then steadied herself and patted his shoulder to reassure him that she would, in fact, be alright.

Lion-O slowly released the arm he had been holding, still unsure if this was a good idea. After seeing that she could stand on her own, he seemed to settle down a little. "Are you certain you will be alright?" he inquired, concern was clearly written on his face. She swallowed hard and nodded her head. "I'll be fine." She reiterated. "I just came out to check on you." She stated, suddenly remembering why she was out there. "You've been gone a while and nobody has heard from you."

"Sorry" he responded sheepishly, "I just got into a rhythm and lost track of time. Besides, I wanted to finish splitting all of the wood before I started hauling any of it back to camp." _The fact that I have been thinking of you the whole time doesn't need to be said_, he thought to himself sarcastically, _nether does the fact that chopping wood is a great way for me to work off my frustration._

She nodded her head in understanding. "Do you need any help getting it all back to camp?" she asked, glad that she had succeeded in getting control over her emotions. "Um…. yes, actually I do." He answered, looking back at the huge pile of cut wood. "I think I've split enough wood to last us for almost a week." She giggled softly at his response as they both got up and headed for the stockpiled wood.

* * *

It was a few short hours after sunrise the next morning when the thundercats found themselves ready to part their separate ways. Lion-O and the kits had packed and were ready to enjoy their picnic, while Tygra was eager for Cheetara and him to start off for the city.

Panther-O was the only one that was remaining in the camp. He planned to use this time to perform some repair work on the thundertank as well as do a little preventative maintenance to boot. He noticed that a hydraulic line was damaged and was in desperate need of replacement, so he figured now was the best time to do that. Besides, if they wait too long and it goes out on them, they could end up stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Before they departed, they each agreed that they should return prior to the sun completely setting. It was better for everyone to be with the group at the campsite after darkness fell. With their 'goodbyes' said the two groups headed off in their own directions; Lion-O and the twins started off towards the river, while the two older cats headed towards the town.

The bazaar was full of people this morning; the vendors were trying to attract new customers and the crowds were busy browsing the merchandise looking for the best deals. Cheetara let her fingers lightly glide over the bindings of the books she was looking through. There were so many good writings here that she was having a hard time choosing. "Who is your favorite author?" she asked as she moved her eyes from the books to the tiger that was standing next to her.

"I don't really have one," Tygra replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I never enjoyed reading just for the fun of it; there was always so much to do outside."

"I thought that the royals were taught a wide variety of things?" Cheetara inquired, turning so that she could look at her companion easier.

"Oh, we are," he hastily answered. "We are both schooled in History, Economics, Politics, Courtly Customs and Courtesies, Etiquettes and even Ballroom Dance. Why…HEY! Don't laugh!" he warned when he saw her hand quickly come up to cover her mouth. After a moment, she schooled her features back to normal and signaled him to continue. "Anyway, it is in the electives where we differ. I always enjoyed sports and outdoor activities like Archery; when I got older, my interest turn to Weapons and Military Tactics. Since Lion-O could never compete with me, he stayed inside and became a 'bookworm'. He actually enjoyed studying things like Science and Literature." Tygra then shook his head like the idea was inconceivable to him.

Cheetara just nodded to him, this actually made sense to her. Lion-O loved science and technology, but he also seemed to be so much better versed in areas like philosophy and religion too. You could see it in the way that he spoke to you. This also explained why Tygra was so proficient in other things like battle strategies and tactics. She briefly wondered if this was yet another reason why their personalities clashed so much. She also wondered how accurate Tygra's statement would be now; with as hard as Lion-O has been pushing himself with his training and his conditioning, his brother would be hard pressed to beat him the way he has done in the past, and that thought brought a small smile to her face.

After making a few selections, Cheetara and Tygra continued their browsing of the market. It was on their way out that they came upon a stall that was much busier than all the others. As they got closer, Tygra noticed a variety of fragrances assaulting him. Some were spicy, while others were woodsy. Some smells were sweet and some were musky.

"What is this place?" he asked her as they entered the crowded area. "A traveling Apothecary." She replied casually as she examined some items on a nearby shelf. Tygra just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "An apothecary is a potions maker" she explained. "They gather and process the ingredients that many herbalists and doctors use for their medicines. They also collect the incenses and oils that clerics and priest use in their ceremonies and rituals." Cheetara smiled as an almost forgotten lesson came to mind. "When we travel, clerics often look for apothecaries to replenish our supplies. You never know what you will need out there, and it's always nice to have a few extra medicines on hand." Tygra nodded his acceptance to the validity of that fact, and Cheetara returned to her shopping.

While she continued to look through the herbs and spices, she came upon a nice selection of fresh sandalwood. As she inhaled the woody fragrance, the picture of Lion-O chopping wood came to mind. She felt her breathing speed up as she remembered the way his toned body moved as he repeatedly worked the axe.

"What is _that_ look" Tygra questioned as he bumped her shoulder playfully, "You have the goofiest grin on your face right now!"

"Nothing," she replied while lowering her eyes. The heat in her cheeks told her that she was still blushing profusely. "I was just…. re-living a pleasant memory."

"Want to tell me about it?" he inquired, wagging his eyebrows earnestly.

"Trust me," She responded with a smirk on her lips, "It's nothing you would want to know about."

"Okay, okay." He stated as he brought his hands up in a sign of surrender. "If you say so, but what made you think of it in the first place?"

"The sandalwood" she answered honestly. "Smells are the strongest trigger to memories that we have. Don't you have a memory that's always triggered by a particular smell?"

"Yeah, Lilacs" he said as he started to gaze off. "I remember my mom holding me in her lap while sitting in the palace garden every time I smell Lilacs, they were her favorite."

"Oh, that's sweet!" she said as she brought her hand up to gently cup the tiger's face. "That's a special memory for you, and I'm glad that you will always have it."

He gently held his hand against hers, "Thank-you" was his only reply.

After a short time, they had gathered up the supplies that they wanted and waited in line to pay for their goods. Tygra shifted uncomfortably as they stood there waiting. The line was moving slowly, very slowly, and he wondered what the delay was. As he looked to the front of the line, he noticed a weasel, presumably the proprietor, weighing all of the items that the customers were buying.

Now, this in and of itself was not strange, because that was how all of the vendors determined how much you owed. You paid a certain amount per ounce and you weighed the substance on a scale against brass weights to determine the total that you needed to pay. What was different was the way he was doing it. He was being cautious, practically too cautious. He was very gentle with the weights, almost as if they were fragile. In fact, he was more worried about the weights than he was about spilling any of the customer's purchases. This didn't set well with Tygra, the scale that he was using didn't look new, nor did the weights for that matter. They didn't shine like new brass normally did, and when he looked closer at them they seemed to be rather dull, like they needed to be polished. This also didn't feel right to Tygra. He's known many merchants over the years, and they all took good care of their scales and weights. After all, this was what they used to get paid, so they definitely took care of them.

When they finally approached the table, Cheetara handed her items over to be measured. Tygra watched closely as the weasel slid each selection onto the scale and then counterbalanced them with the weights.

"Seven ounces" the vendor said before looking up at the cheetah. He smiled politely as he started to put her purchases into a small bag.

"That seems a little high" she remarked mostly to herself, "I though I was a better judge of weight than that"

"You are." Tygra replied, then quickly grabbed one of the weights from off the table. "STOP" The weasel yelled; he tried to stop him as soon as he saw him move, but Tygra was too fast for him. As soon as he had it in his hand, Tygra knew the weight was fake. He placed it between both hands and snapped it right in half. He lifted up both hands and showed everyone that it has made of clay rather than brass. "This man is a liar and a cheat." He called out loudly to get everyone's attention. "He has been using fake weights in order to charge you more for your purchases"

"That's a Lie" the weasel shot back, but he never got to finish his argument. He was immediately enveloped by a mob of angry customers demanding their money back while others shouted for the town guard. "Let's get out of here" Tygra whispered as he took hold of Cheetara's hand and led her away from the growing chaos.

This was not how he planned on spending his day with her; he didn't need any more problems. Luckily, the day was still young and he had other plans that he could, hopefully, bring to light. If nothing else, there was always time for dinner and dancing…

* * *

Lion-O was really enjoying his time with the thundercubs. The afternoon had started off warm and bright and the kits were bouncing with anticipation of their day out. This was the perfect distraction to help him keep his mind off of….other things. They had decided to take their picnic down to the river where they found a nice open place to lay out all of their stuff. They started off by playing catch, but that quickly evolved into a game of 'Monkian in the middle' with Lion-O being the said monkian. They threw the ball over his head then taunted him until he came close only to throw it again at the last second. This quickly evolved into a game of freeze tag and that lasted for what seemed like quite a while; it definitely succeeded in burning up the majority of their energy. All of that running around had left the trio hot, sweaty, and pretty dusty. They remedied this little problem by removing their shoes and wading into the river. The water was cool and refreshing and the current was very gentle. It was only about waist deep, which was more than enough to swim and play in. Wiley-Kat demonstrated one of his near flawless cannon-balls as he threw himself off one of the nearby rocks causing a torrent of water to splash across Lion-O and his sister. This earned him swift retaliation in the form of a two-on-one water fight that left all three soaked and nearly waterlogged.

After returning to their blanket, they basked in the sun as they leisurely enjoyed the lunch they had prepared for the day. Lion-O noted how nice it felt to just lean back and enjoy the warmth as he allowed the suns rays to dry his still damp clothing. Try as he might, his mind kept circling around back to Cheetara. She had become a constant thought in his mind lately; a warm comforting companion that was always there. He couldn't keep from wondering what was she doing now, was she having fun with Tygra? Or was she thinking of him as well? Though it pained him to think of who she was with, he wanted her to enjoy her time, even if it wasn't with him. He wanted her to be happy, regardless of what it took. That was why he encouraged her to go with him today, but by the ancients why did it have to hurt so much?

As evening was beginning to fall, they re-dressed themselves and starting packing up their things for the day. That was when Lion-O felt a rumble coming from the Sword of Omens. He looked down and saw the Eye of Thundera glowing brightly as it growled out its warning. He quickly brought the hilt of the sword in front of his face and declared, "Sword of Omens, give me Sight beyond Sight."

Wiley Kit saw the hilt of the sword grow around Lion-O s eyes and encompass them as he asked for his sight beyond sight. She observed that his eyes began to glow a brilliant white as the sword revealed its vision to him and she wondered what it could possibly be. That's when she noticed that all of the blood had drained from his features. With a look of horror that she had never before seen on his face, Lion-O uttered a single word "Whiskers…"

* * *

It was late afternoon when the two cats decided to leave the city. Cheetara's diminutive paw was tucked securely in Tygra's larger one; his grip was firm and almost possessive as he led them on a leisurely stroll down the path that marked the way back to the campsite. Their fingers were not intertwined though, and as they walked, he thought back over the day they had just spent together. Even though it had only been the two of them here today, there were times that he felt like he needed to fight for her attention. She would often gaze off into the distance, like something was drawing here consideration away form him. The funny thing was that every time she did it, a silly little smirk would creep onto her lips. Still, he reminded himself that they were alone, and that he had better make the best use of what little time he had with her.

* * *

Lion-O was running as fast as his legs would carry him. His heart was racing and for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, he wished he had Cheetara's speed. He kept his legs pumping as hard as he could and his lungs began to burn as thy tried to pull in more and more oxygen. This was not the longest he has ever run, but this was the first time he has sprinted the entire way. The road they would be on was still over half of a mile ahead of him, and prayed to the ancients he would get there in time…

* * *

Tygra stopped near a large boulder along the side of the road and brought Cheetara to stand in front of him. He slipped his arms around her slender waist and clasped his hands together, resting them in the small of her back. He gazed affectionately as the lovely cheetah before him. Even though this date didn't go exactly the way he planned, he still didn't want it to end just yet. The light from the setting sun was giving her mane a golden hue. The effect was beautiful and made it look as if she were glowing radiantly. He brought her close as he leaned in, his lips seeking hers.

Cheetara let him pull her in for a kiss and even responded, her lips meshed with his and her arms coiled themselves around his neck; but she found that her heart was just not into it. The intensity and desire that she had always felt before, was definitely missing.

Tygra sighed to himself as he ended their kiss. Her passion was gone, he could tell. He knew it by the way she reacted to him; it wasn't the enthusiastic reciprocation that she normally gave, it felt like she was merely going through the motions. His heart began to ache when he thought of the possibility of losing the incredible woman, what would he do if she decided to leave him? Before he could even begin to contemplate the idea, he was brought out of his reverie by the sounds of something quickly approaching them from the wooded area across the road.

Lion-O slowed only momentarily as he broke through the brush into the clearing. He quickly located his brother and Cheetara standing along the opposite side of the road and headed for them immediately. They were only about 25 yards away, but the distance seemed immense. His legs burned with fatigue and moved sluggishly like they weighed a ton. His breathing was ragged and his lungs felt like they would explode. "Tygra….take….cover!" he managed to shout as he rapidly closed the gap between them.

"Take over?! Take over what?" Tygra questioned as he stared at the lion with a puzzled look on his face. It was at that moment that Lion-O launched himself at his brother tackling him to the ground. Lion-O hit Tygra with enough force to slam the tiger right onto his back, temporarily knocking the wind out of him. Unfortunately, the momentum was also so great that when Lion-O came down he bashed his head hard against the unyielding ground.

"**LION-O, WHAT IN THE ABYSS!"** Tygra yelled a moment later as he tried repeatedly to kick his brother off of him. He was absolutely furious now. First his date with Cheetara bombs out because she is so distracted she can't think straight, then it gets even worse when she kisses him with all of the passion of a dying goldfish, and now his idiot brother tries using him as a freaking tackling dummy.

Tygra nearly jumped out of his skin when Cheetara screamed "**LION-O!**" This was not the sound of anger or frustration by any means; this was the sound of terror. He promptly looked at the cheetah and followed her gaze back to his unresponsive brother. There between his hip and his ribcage, approximately a hand-width apart from each other, protruded two black shafts. They watched in shocked disbelief as the blood started leaking out from around the two wounds and began to spill into a pool of crimson red beneath him.

Tygra immediately threw himself back trying to dislodge his legs from underneath the lion's body. This act very well may have saved his life, because a second after he moved, two black streaks flew in front of his face. He quickly turned to see two more shafts sticking out of the ground next to him. "There still shooting at us!" he warned, but Cheetara was already gone in a blaze of golden light.

Cheetara raced down the path with fury churning in her stomach. She had traced the path of the second set of arrows as soon as she had seen them. While she scanned the area, she saw the gleam of reflected light that indicated the whereabouts of their attackers, and then she was off. The image of Lion-O's body lying in a pool of his own blood burned into her memory like a branding iron. Of its own volition, her hand closed around her staff and pulled it free of its sheath. With a quick flick of her wrist, her staff grew to its six foot length as she held it at the low ready. Her rage and fear boiled inside of her, compelling her feet to move at higher and higher rates. Lion-O needed immediate medical attention, but they couldn't move him while they were still in danger of being shot at. She would soon _deal_ with the ones that dared to harm him, and deal with them severely; her wrath would be unleashed upon _any_ who tried to take him from her.

The two would-be assassins ducked back down behind their boulder. They needed to reload their crossbows quickly in hopes of getting off another shot. They had no idea where that crazy lion came from, and truthfully they didn't care. Nor did they really care who the tiger was, only that they had been paid a great deal of money to take him out. So they would put a couple of bolts into him and be on there way to enjoy their newfound wealth.

The sound of a high pitched squeal distracted the two rodents from what they were doing. They looked around for the source of the noise when they saw a yellow light streaking towards them. Unfortunately for them, they would never see anything after that.

The rats never knew what hit them. Once Cheetara had seen her attackers, she shot at them like a bolt of lightning. She brought the center of her staff to her chest and leaned forward as she ran in between them. Traveling at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour, her ironwood staff struck like a clap of thunder with a resounding _'CCrrraaaacckkk!'_. The force of the blow was more than sufficient to crush their skulls on impact; the poor fools were both dead before the even hit the ground.

When Cheetara returned to where Lion-O was laying, she discovered that Tygra had ripped off aportion of his shirt to use as bandages as he tried to restrict the flow of blood coming from his brother's side. "We need to get him to a doctor as soon as possible." He exclaimed with a worried look on his face. He was trying to apply as much direct pressure as possible to the injuries, but he was not having much success. He also knew that he could not remove those shafts because the arrowheads were barbed and designed to rip the flesh if they were pulled out. "I think one or possibly both of these arrows have hit his spleen; that means he doesn't have much time left. What's worse is that we can't even pull these blasted shafts out, because they're the only things stopping the blood from gushing out of him like a river."

"We have even bigger problems than that" Cheetara said in a voice that sounded hollow and dead. Tygra watched as she lifted up one of her paws, it was shaking visibly, and in it she held a single black arrow. The tip of the arrowhead was cover in a bright green slime. "I don't know exactly what this green stuff is…but I'm pretty sure that it's poison."

Tygra's face lost all expression and his body went completely numb. His brain stopped processing anything for a moment and he just stared at the tip of the shaft that the cheetah held in her hand. A couple of seconds later, when his brain finally started working again, he muttered the only word that came to his mind, "Whiskers…."

To be continued…

_A/N: Many animals, humans included, use smells to attract potentail mates. Both males and females do it, and many people are attracted/stimulated by different things. If this was not the case, the perfume/cologne/deorderant business would not be the Billion dollar industry it is today. Since the Thundercats have a more accute since of smell, they react more powerfully to different scents._


	8. Chapter 8

"_We have even bigger problems than that" Cheetara said in a voice that sounded hollow and dead. Tygra watch as she lifted up one of her paws, it visibly shaking. In it she held a single black arrow, the tip of which was cover in a florescent green slime. "I don't know what this green stuff is…but I'm pretty sure that it's poison."_

_The blood drained from Tygra's face and his body went completely numb. His brain stopped processing anything and he just stared at the tip of the shaft that the cheetah held in her hand. The second his brain started again, he muttered the only words that came to his mind, "Whiskers…."_

Chapter 8

Tygra hadn't managed to completely stop the bleeding from Lion-O's wounds, but he had been able to bandage them enough to restrict the blood flow to its minimum. They desperately needed to get him to a hospital; and the quicker, the better. Unfortunately, Lion-O was far too heavy for Cheetara to carry all the way back to Altintas by herself. Tygra could probably do it, but it would take a lot longer, and he was sure that all that jumbling around would cause the arrowheads to do more damage to Lion-O's insides, no matter how secure he made them. And there was still the matter of the poison. He only prayed that it wasn't a fast acting kind.

Luckily, it was only a few short moments before Tygra felt the ground rumble and he heard the familiar roar of the thundertank's engines. As soon as it came around the bend, Cheetara waved her hands overhead and started shouting to signal their location to them. Both Wiley Kat and Kit came flying out of the opened hatch as the tank came skidding to a halt next to Cheetara.

"Tygra! Are you okay?" shouted Wiley Kit as she rushed over to him. "What happened to Lion-O!?" she screamed as she finally got a complete view of the brothers.

"Help me get him into the tank" he ordered, and immediately Cheetara and the twins helped him carry Lion-O to the back of the thundertank. "We need to get him to a surgeon as fast as this thing can go!" he yelled to Panther-O as the mammoth panther opened the rear bay doors. Once on board, they were tearing off down the road before they bay doors were even fully closed.

"How did you guys know we needed help?" Tygra asked after they were on their way. Cheetara had taken his place beside Lion-O and was doing her best to once again stop the bleeding that moving him had caused.

"Lion-O told us," Wiley Kit answered. She had shifted her tear filled eyes back to the tiger to look at him directly while she responded. "We were down by the river enjoying our picnic when the Sword of Omens growled out a warning. Then he asked for 'sight beyond sight' and his face went all pale." She took a deep breath before she continued. "After that, he tore the sword away from his face and said 'Go get Panther-O, Tygra is in Danger' and took off running for you as fast as he could."

Tygra closed his eyes as he tried to process the information she had told him. _Lion-O had known that we were going to be ambushed._ He thought to himself, _the sword had shown it to him._ Instantly, he remembered Lion-O's warning, _'Take cover…' That's what he was trying to tell me, not 'take over'_, he berated himself mentally, _ancients, what an idiot I am._ He sat there a while, trying to mentally put all of the pieces together. _Lion-O had to have sprinted the whole way; otherwise he wouldn't have made it in time._ _No wonder he could barely talk._ Then the realization of the wording clicked in his mind, "Go get Panther-O, _Tygra_ is in Danger" Thinking back to the moments before Lion-O came; he visualized the way they were standing by the boulder; Cheetara was in front of him, in his arms. That meant that Tygra would have been hit in the back with those arrows. _Not US, it was ME! _His eyes snapped open with that revelation and he looked quickly to his brother._ He did all this to save ME!_

"Heads up people" Panther-O called back from the driver's seat, "Altintas is coming up!"

_A Few Hours Later…_

The waiting room of the Altintas hospital was poorly lit now that the sun had set. The dim lighting and barren walls gave the room a dismal and dungy look, a look that mirrored the feelings of the five cats that waited inside of it. It had been some time since they managed to bring Lion-O in. Because of the amount of people in the streets, it was quicker to carry him from the city's entrance than to attempt the drive in with the thundertank. Shouting for help as soon as they came crashing through the doors, the thundercats placed Lion-O gently on a gurney. The hospital staff had him prepped and on his way to surgery in a matter of minutes. Tygra had explained the situation and had even provided the doctors with the arrow that Cheetara had retrieved hoping that they could use it to develop an antidote. Since then, all they could do is wait, wait and hope…

Wiley-Kat sat in one of the chairs along the wall, his thoughts wandering back over the day he had spent with Lion-O. He couldn't believe the rotten turn of events that the day had taken. It had started out so good! Lion-O had taken his sister and him out on a picnic, they played, they swam, and they laughed. Now there was a possibility that Lion-O wouldn't make it through the night. Greif and anger surged through the young boy, it wasn't fair! It wasn't fair at all. Lion-O was different from the others. Wiley-Kat knew that the other Thundercats cared for him and his sister, especially Cheetara, but not in the same manner as Lion-O. He actually _liked_ them, and he liked spending time with them. Lion-O was the KING for ancient's sake, and yet he played games like 'freeze tag' and 'Monkian in the Middle' with them. How many other nobles would do that for a couple of cubs they had only known for a short while? Not many! But Lion-O did. He was their friend, and he was the real deal. He always put others in front of himself, and now he was fighting for his life. Sitting there in that waiting room, Wiley Kat wished that there was something, anything, that he could do to make his friend well again.

Wiley-Kit sat next to her brother, but her mind was a million miles away. She was standing by the side of a mountain, and she had just seen Lion-O go over the side. He had seemingly plunged to his death, but somehow she knew that he would be okay, that he could come back to them. Oh, how she wished she felt the same way now. Her mind drifted back to the present and she looked over to the cheetah maiden sitting on the other side of her. She took Cheetara's hand and finally put to voice the fears that she was having. "I'm scared Cheetara," she told the young woman when she turned to look at her, "I'm scared that he won't make it this time." Cheetara saw the fear in her eyes and she tried her best to comfort her, "Lion-O is going to be just fine, don't you worry. He didn't leave us last time, and he won't this time either." "But that is what I'm trying to tell you!" Kit exclaimed, "Last time I knew he would be okay, I could _FEEL_ it. Somehow I could feel that he was going to come back to us, even when all of you thought that I was crazy for thinking so, I knew that he would. AND HE DID!" She swallowed hard to get past the knot that was forming in her throat as the tears started building behind her eyes, "This time I don't have that. This time I feel that if he dies, he won't be able to come back; and I'm not sure what's gonna happen. I don't know if he's gonna make it or not!" With the words finally spoken out loud, Wiley-Kit couldn't keep herself from breaking down into sobs.

Cheetara quietly pulled the crying child onto her lap and gently wrapped her arms around her. She began to rock her back and forth, trying to impart as much comfort as possible, just like Lion-O had done with Cheetara not so long ago. She placed her chin on the top of the girl's head and soothingly stroked her mane. "We have to have faith that he will pull through. You know that Lion-O is a fighter, and he will fight with all of his strength to come back to us. We just have to pray that this time, it will be enough."

Cheetara held Kit tightly and just continued to rock, doing her best to soothe the girl without letting her own fears and doubts show. She tried to keep her thoughts as positive as she could, because she would not allow herself to contemplate the alternative. The thought of life without Lion-O left her feeling cold and empty inside, like a hollow shell of herself. Somehow, over the course of the last several weeks, the young lion had made himself an integral part of her happiness. She didn't know when her feelings for her king had shifted, but they had, and she would have to figure that out later. What she did know, was right now he was fighting to stay alive, and until they received word that he had passed from this life, then she would hope, she would pray, and she would do everything in her power to comfort those around her.

Panther-O watched the exchange between the two females with silent amusement. The cleric was good with the kits, better than he would have guessed at first, but then again, she was always full of surprises. The panther shifted listlessly in his chair, trying to find a comfortable position. He hates hospitals, he always did. He never had a god experience in one, but he knew that he needed to be there. Despite his best efforts to prevent it, he found himself liking the new king. At first he didn't believe that Lion-O would make the cut, but the kid had spunk. Even when the odds were stacked against him, he had never given up. He wasn't great in the beginning, but he did the best that he could, and he continued to improve as the time went by. The impressive thing though, was that the kid had heart, he always put others needs in front of his own. He was surprised the first time he noticed that Lion-O made sure everyone else's portion of food was larger than his, or the first time he defended a non-feline, just because it was the right thing to do. Now he's come to expect it from the kid_. Claudus_ he mused to himself, _I think you'd be proud, if you could see your boy now._ He hoped that the young lion would pull through, although he would never admit to it, they would all be devastated if he didn't.

Tygra stood near the window gazing out into the city. His mind had drifted back to the days before Thundera had fallen. He remembered back to when he was a small cub; Lion-O would follow him around all the time. Everything he did Lion-O would try to copy, it was so annoying. Then their father sat him on his knee and explained it to him. "Tygra, Lion-O is little, and he has a lot to learn. He learns right now by watching and copying things. You are his big brother, and he loves you, of course he is going to try and copy you. Be proud that he wants to be like you, because there will come a time when that won't be the case. Remember, that you are family." That time came soon enough, and then they acted just like every other set of siblings. Half of the time they were purposely trying to annoy one another, the other half of the time, couldn't stand to be in the same room as each other. But he was always there. If he ever needed him for anything, he was right there without any questions. His brother!

Then Thundera fell. Their father died and it was just the two of them. He was sure that his brother was in no way ready to wear the crown, and he was right. That's changed now. It took a long time, and a _LOT_ of work, but Lion-O has become a capable leader. He didn't do it the way Tygra would have done it, but he did it; and even though he would never admit this to his brother in a million years, Lion-O will be a good king, better than him. Now all he has to do is make it through this ordeal. Tygra thought long and hard about the time since Thundera fell. They have been through a lot since then. They still can't stand to be in the same room together half the time, but he was still there for him. His brother ran over two and a half miles to push him out of the way of poison arrows_, that stupid fool!_ _That selfless, careless, stupid fool! Doesn't he realize that he is the KING!_ Even as he wondered why Lion-O would do such a thing, he knew the answer, _because he's my brother idiot! That's why! And that's what_ _family does for each other!_ Tygra glanced over to the others, and his gaze fell upon Cheetara rocking a sniffling Wiley-Kit. _That's another thing that needs to be worked out,_ he thought to himself. Interestingly, Tygra found that there wasn't the anger there that was present before. Lion-O needed to get better, and soon!

_Two Hours later…_

It was a very tired Irish-Setter that made his way through the halls. Almost five hours of surgery can take a lot out of you, but he had one last duty to perform; there were people in the waiting room that he needed to speak with. Slowly he opened the door to the waiting room. As he did so, five sets feline eyes immediately turned their gazes on him.

"Is Lion-O going to be alright doctor?" Tygra quickly asked.

"We were able to repair the damage that the arrows did to both his spleen and his lower intestines." The doctor stated, and as he did so he heard the release of the breath some of them were holding. "But he lost a lot of blood. The fact that you were able to suppress most of the bleeding and got him in here as quickly as you did most likely saved his life. Unfortunately, he also has a severe head trauma, and …we were unable to do anything for the poisoning." He continued.

"What?! Why?! Weren't you able to use the sample from the arrow that we brought in?" Cheetara questioned.

"Yes we were." replied the setter. "It was a very complex poison. We were able to identify everything except one compound. It is an animal protein, probably venom of some sort, but it's not from anything around this region. We don't know what it is." He rubbed his weary eyes and took another breath before continuing on. "Right now we have him sedated and on medications that will slow the progression of the poison, but unless we get an antidote or enough of that unknown animal protein to process an anti-venom, then the poison will eventually overtake him."

"How long does he have doctor" Tygra inquired in solemn voice.

"Several days… maybe a week, we can't really be sure." Came the reply. "He is young and healthy, so that will work in his favor. I'm sorry there wasn't anymore we could do for your friend"

"When can we all see him doctor?" asked Cheetara anxiously.

"Tomorrow" he said with some trepidation, "He is sedated right now, however, I can allow one or two of you to stay with him overnight."

"Thank-you doctor, for everything you've done." Tygra told the haggard looking doctor. He shook his hand and watched as he exited back through the door.

"Me and the Kits will head back to the campsite," Panther-O stated, taking Wiley-Kit from Cheetara, "You and Tygra can stay here and look after Lion-O."

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow." Cheetara replied as she watched them heading for the hospital's main exit.

Afterwards, she and Tygra were escorted to Lion-O's room by one of the hospital's staff. Once they entered the room, they were both surprised at the young lion's appearance. "He looks so pale." Cheetara commented in a worried voice. "He lost a lot of blood the doctor said," Tygra responded, "More than I originally thought." He turned to see the distraught look on her face, and the apprehension in her eyes. "Tygra," she began, her voice quivering slightly, "If you had not been able to control his bleeding the way you did, he would have died. You saved him."

The emotions in her statement were unquestionable and undeniable. They were also the last confirmation that Tygra needed. His suspicions were correct. "He's not out of the woods yet." He commented, then he walked up to her and gently took her hands in his. "Cheetara, I need you to do something for me." He paused while she looked at him inquisitively, "I need you to look after him. I don't think anyone will come after him, seeing as how they were after me, but I want to make sure that someone will be here to watch him while I'm gone." She cocked an eyebrow at him and asked, "Where are you going?" "I'm going to go find his antidote." Tygra replied.

"But you don't…" Cheetara started, but Tygra never let her finish her sentence. "I'm not stupid, Cheetara." He interrupted with a steel resolve, "And neither are you. We both know who did this. The doctor said it was a 'complex' poison, and one of the ingredients was not found anywhere in this region. Who better to make a poison, than the person you would normally ask to make the antidote? And we both know a certain traveling apothecary that would have a reason to hold a grudge against me." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to control the anger that had crept up on him. "I need to know that he is safe, so I can concentrate on getting the antidote." He gazed into her eyes while he waited patiently for her answer. He could see the conflicting emotions warring inside of her.

After a minute or so, she simply nodded her head; she didn't trust her voice at that moment. The thought of him going out alone after someone who wanted him dead was tearing her apart. "How do you plan on getting him to give it to you?" She finally asked. "Don't worry," the tiger replied with a devilish grin on his face, "I have my ways." After a moment, he added something. "And after he is all healed up," he said nodding to his unconscious brother, "You two need to discuss these feelings you have for each other."

The shocked look on Cheetara's face was actually kind of comical, and so was her attempted response. "Wh...What?!" she managed to sputter out. Tygra's features instantly softened, and with a gentle voice he admonished her, "I told you earlier that I wasn't stupid… I'm not blind either." "Tygra…" she pleaded, unable to say more. Her tears were welling up in her eyes and there was a huge knot in her throat. "C'here." Tygra said as he wrapped his arms around the beautiful cheetah. He stood there holding her tightly, trying to convey as much comfort as he possibly could. "Everything will be alright," he said soothingly, "I promise." How long they stood that way he didn't know, finally she calmed down enough to speak. "Please be careful," She asked sincerely, "I don't want to lose you either." "Don't worry," he replied, "You won't." With a final squeeze, he released the young cheetah and quietly slipped out the door…..

To be continued…

A/N: Please read and review. All reviews are welcome, good and bad, thanks! A special thanks to those who noticed my mistake and informed me about it :)


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